David Soul: a multi-talented maverick

By James MacArthur

Senior World Online goes to London! Well, at least your faithful scribe, his wife, and son did.

The occasion was the reintroduction of Hawaii 5-0 to British audiences. We were invited to go to London to enhance the debut by doing publicity and generally beating the drum for the show's return. A week's sightseeing for my wife and 12-year-old was fabulous. Of course, I was at work doing radio, television and newspaper interviews. On one television program called Light Lunch, I was on with a well-known British actor named Barry Foster and David Soul, of Starsky and Hutch and other fame. Having both had cop shows on television at the same time, David and I hit it off quite well. After the show I said, "David, what brings you to London?" He said "Oh, I live here." On went the light bulb, and I thought to myself, surely there is a story here! And there certainly was!

First, however, a little background; David's life has been fascinating and quite out of the ordinary. To really do it justice, Senior World Online would have to add a supplement. Since we can't do that, I will have to do a bit of editing. David was born in the Midwest in the mid-forties. His father, a Lutheran minister and history professor, served alternately at Augustan College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as religious affairs advisor to the High Commission in Berlin, and as senior representative for the Lutheran World Federation, a refugee relief agency actively involved in post World War II reconstruction in Germany. Because of this, David spent his growing up years in South Dakota, where he played baseball (so well, he later had a try at the majors), and Berlin, where hundreds of displaced people sought help from his father.

Unexplored path

David ultimately decided against baseball and followed his father to Mexico, where the professor taught at the University of Mexico. While studying to be a diplomat, David was presented with his first guitar by his "radical, gringo-hating" student friends. Taught the folk music of Mexico, he began to think about a career as a performer.

So began his road to great success in television, theatre, movies, and singing. Movies like Magnum Force with Clint Eastwood, Hanoi Hilton ( a Vietnam war picture), and Agatha Christie's Appointment with Death , were in David's future, as were numerous television shows, documentaries and hit record albums. Who remembers Don't Give Up On Us, Baby, Silver Lady and Going in With My Eyes Open ? Well, the international charts do, because these songs were right up at the top!

David describes himself as a multi-faceted creative force; actor, director, producer, writer, concert performer, recording artist, film documentarian, social activist and...one of two survivors of four marriages, by which he has six children (five boys and a girl). We decided to meet for a drink at his "local" (pub). As you know, in England pubs are quite abundant, and people go to their favorites regularly. Well, David's pub is the Prince Alfred , a wonderful old building. When he arrived, David suggested we go to a back room, which we did by ducking under four-foot doorways. I asked him why this design existed? He said "Oh, for privacy." Well, I guess it works...along with a few knocks on the head!

Changing places

Anyway, a pint of lager in hand, I asked David about his move to London. He said, "I just got fed up with the business of the 'Biz,' and I needed to go somewhere fresh." I nodded sympathetically, knowing what a difficult place Hollywood can be. "I came over here and played in Willie Russell's Blood Brothers (a wonderful musical) and David Mamet's Speed-The Plow, which may go to the West End (The Broadway of London)." I also noted in David's biography a charming self-deprecating description of his latest movie, "The soon to be released, if soon to be forgotten, motion picture, Pentathlon!"

Lighting up his fifth cigarette in half an hour, David looked intently at me, (and why not? Intensity comes easily to him!) and said, "But forget show biz for a minute, and I'll tell you how I got involved in British politics!" Well, my ears went up like Spock's, and I said "I'm all ears."

At this point, another pint of lager had to be procured so the tale would go smoothly. David continued, "First, I want you to understand my political outlook. It's very simple -- I'm a populist. That means having to do with people."

Word pundit

Well, I thought that sounded fine, but as a collector of dictionaries, I decided to check the word out a little more. It turns out that the origin of the word populist (politically at least) comes from 1891 when there was a party that advocated, among other things, state control of railways and placing restrictions on the ownership of land. This was according to my Century Dictionary of 1911 and the Oxford English Dictionary.

The people David dislikes the most seem to be in the media. As a boy, David remembers hearing Edward R. Murrow, who he believes was journalistically a witness to events, not an interpreter. He decries our television news because of it's "bite" mentality; that is, lack of the larger picture. David believes the star image of news anchors, along with the pressure to make money, which news departments have to live with, is quite harmful. Of course, he is on to something quite real, because network news is shrinking every year. Why? For David, the answer is quite simple. People don't believe them! For this reason, he thought about writing a television series where the hero was a believable reporter.

One night he was watching the BBC program News Night , and there was a correspondent of 35 years named Martin Bell talking about journalism just the way David had envisioned his character would. Intrigued, he picked up the phone and called Martin Bell. Although Mr. Bell was not in, David figured a good journalist would return a call from David Soul. Indeed, he did, and a meeting was arranged. Here begins a tale worthy of Frank Capra (Remember Mr. Smith Goes to Washington?).

Career change

Out of their meeting, the idea was born for Mr. Bell to run for Parliament. He was not a politician, however, and had no political party. So what would he be? Why that's easy! A populist!! He would be a populist running as an Independent!

At that point, David went to work phoning voters out of the blue asking for support. He said the conversations went something like this, "Hello, this is David Soul calling." The person he was calling would say, " Oh, go on." It got even better when he went out and knocked on doors. Knock, knock...the door opened and a man looked at David, turned and yelled "Mary, come here." When his wife arrived, the man pointed to David and said, "Who's that look like?"

Of course, the end of this Capra tale is that Mr. Bell receives 29,000 votes and the incumbent got 18,000 votes. Parliament had its first Independent member in 60 years! As they say in England, high marks to you Mr. Soul, and let's hope your man in the white suit lives up to the voters' expectations, and indeed, yours as well!

Who knows what's next for this gypsy? David is an avid skier, horseman and tennis player, and loves to go "exploring."

We wish him well in whatever exciting endeavor he embarks upon next!P.S. I wrote this article while listening to David's soon to released, and NOT to be forgotten, album Leave a Light On!

MacArthur, star of stage, screen and television, interviews celebrities each month for Senior World.